Gleeman & The Geek: Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez

[John Bonnes]

Aaron and John talk about the Minnesota Twins' controversial trade of Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. 

View full article

[mikelink45]

On ESPN - Brad Doolittle had this to say (requires subscription) about the trade which they say could favor the Twins if the prospects come through: " Since Arraez broke into the majors in 2019, he leads all 247 hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances with 10.8 at-bats per strikeout, per Baseball-Reference.com. (The Angels' David Fletcher is in second place at 10.0. Incidentally, in dead last with just 2.3 at-bats per strikeout is new Twin Joey Gallo, which makes for an unsightly lineup swap if you want to view the Arraez departure through that lens.)

[tony&rodney]

The fact that Luis Arraez is a good hitter is pretty much not worth arguing about. Arraez is a good hitter.

I believe this trade was in part a belief in those players sitting on the fence waiting for an opportunity and/or recovering from injury. All of Kirilloff, Larnach, Lewis, and perhaps Julien could more than cover for Arraez. Brooks Lee is coming as well. The gamble is that these guys step up and that Pablo Lopez simply repeats what he did for the Marlins. Lopez should be improved as well, which is a plus for the Twins. There is risk and this trade would seem to benefit both teams, not a bad thing.

Salas and Chourio are future tickets that the Twins hope pay off. As an original subscriber to BaseballAmerica and a sicko follower of minor league players across baseball, Salas does carry promise and value because he has physical talent and baseball acumen. Like all prospects,  development depends on a combination of talent, health, opportunity, and how the individual handles adversity. Salas projects positively in my viewpoint. In any event, the Arraez-Lopez +2 trade was a good trade for baseball as two teams will be improved due to the exchange.